Fact Check: Will RBI offer Rs 4.75 cr on payment of Rs 12,500?

New Delhi, May 16: An e-mail is being sent to people claiming that the Reserve Bank of India is offering Rs 4.75 crore on paying Rs 12,500. However, it turned out to be a fake message sent by fraudsters.

The RBI has time and again stated that it does not send any mail to people asking them to pay money. "The Reserve Bank does not maintain/give money/foreign currency or any other type of funds to individual or opens accounts for/in the name of individuals. The Reserve Bank has urged the public to remain alert and not to fall prey to frauds or scams perpetrated by individuals who impersonate to be employees of the Reserve Bank of India," it claimed in an earlier statement.

The Reserve Bank of India has, on several occasions in the past, cautioned the members of public not to fall prey to fictitious offers / lottery winnings / remittance of cheap funds in foreign currency from abroad by so-called foreign entities/ individuals or to Indian residents acting as representatives of such entities/individuals.

Cautioning the netizens not to fall prey to the scams, it said, "Describing the modus operandi of the fraud, the Reserve Bank has stated that the fraudsters send attractive offers to gullible public through letters, e-mails, mobile phones, SMSs, etc. To lend credence to such offers, the communication is often sent on/from letterheads/websites that appear to be like that of some public authorities like the Reserve Bank of India,"

The offers are purportedly signed by top executives/senior officials of such authorities. While the names of the officials might be correct but their signatures are fake. The offer document would contain contact details of a so-called RBI officer working in some department in the Reserve Bank/public authorities, the RBI claimed.